Namco’s prescience in the video game industry has played a major role in shaping the different genres that gamers enjoy on a daily basis. Games like Rolling Thunder and Splatterhouse reinvented the platform genre by introducing concepts that were fresh and innovative for their time. For example: Rolling Thunder implemented a two-tier platforming system, where the player could jump between the floor and the walkway above. The ability to enter rooms to replenish ammo – and to hide from enemies – was considered groundbreaking for its time.
Splatterhouse also had an impact on the genre. Considered the grandfather of survival horror games, Splatterhouse’s excessive gore, imaginative monsters and environments that would attack the player, laid the ground work for future games to follow. And this barely scratches the surface of Namco’s influence on the gaming industry at large. Namco Museum for Nintendo Switch contains 11 Namco coin-ops that were not only considered blockbusters in their day, but timeless classics that continue to be cherished by gamers today despite the advancements in modern video games.
Namco Museum’s line up is as diverse as the games themselves, including longtime favorites such as Pac-Man, Tank Force, Galaga and Dig Dug, to mention just a few. The real highlight of this release, though, is the inclusion of Splatterhouse, Rolling Thunder 1 & 2 and Pac-Man VS. It can be argued that these games alone are worth the price of admission.
Emulation performance is as good as previous Namco Museum releases. Games like Pac-Man and Rolling Thunder (which rely on fast, twitch-like reflexes) function perfectly. Slower games like Splatterhouse, though, seem to have slightly more sensitive controls. This issue seems to occur while jumping over the spikes inside the sewer and battling some of the bosses in the game’s more claustrophobic rooms. It’s not enough to ruin the experience, but it can (and sometimes does) lead to the occasional misstep.
Namco Museum includes a plethora of options that can be accessed at anytime (even during gameplay) by pressing the Right Shoulder button. There’s an option to ‘Save’ in-game progress; a Display menu to stretch the screen; and an audio menu to adjust the volume, reverb length, etc. This isn’t including the ‘Game Settings’ menu (which allows the player to manipulate the number of lives per game, etc.), the ‘Controls’ menu and the ‘How to Play’ instruction page.
As a Nintendo Switch release, Namco Museum ranks high as a must-buy for any gamer looking to experience classic arcade games both in the home and on the go. Here’s to hoping that more Namco Museum compilations are on their way.
Mike Pittaro
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Developer: Bandai-Namco
Publisher: Bandai-Namco
ESRB: T (Teen)
Price: $29.99
Namco Museum Official Website:
https://www.bandainamcoent.com/games/namco-museum
| Review Score | |
|---|---|
| Graphics |   |
| While some games haven't aged well, others like Rolling Thunder and Splatterhouse have. | |
| Sound | |
| The retro sound effects are synced with the action, and sound great. | |
| Gameplay | |
| The quality of gameplay varies per title. | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Namco Museum ranks high as a must-buy for any gamer looking to experience classic arcade games both in the home and on the go. | |
